The Gazetteers Department

Fairs: The fairs in India usually serve more than one purpose. No doubt they are primarily religious gatherings of persons belonging more often than not to one particular religion. However, they also bring into the market the various indigenous articles produced by the villagers and thus, serve as a place for exchange of the goods produced by the village artisans. They are in a sense complementary to weekly markets so far as commercial transactions are concerned and provide an outlet for local goods.

"Except that they are much larger gatherings, these fairs differ little from weekly markets. Besides local pedlars and travelling dealers, most fairs are attended by the agents of many traders, some of them of leading firms in distant towns. The chief articles of traffic are ctoth, pots, carts and live-stock." [Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency, Vol. XII, Khandesh, 1880.]

The fairs also play a cultural role in the life of the village communities. Centered as the fairs are round some local or regional deity, people from different walks of life and belonging to different cultural levels attend them and there is thus, mutual exchange of ideas.

The author of the Wardha District Gazetteer says the following about fairs in Central Provinces and Berar. "A number of annual fairs are held in the district, practically all of which find their raison d'etre in the commemoration of some local anchorite or saint or of a miracutous manifestation of one of the gods. At some of these the sales of grain and other articles of food, household utensils, ornaments and fancy articles are not inconsiderable, but though useful to the people as a means of obtaining their annual supplies of such articles and also as affording an occasion for an outing and a little excitement the fairs no longer exercise any permanent effect on the trade of the district."

"Fairs", wrote Sir Alfred Lyall in 1870, " arc already losing their importance and commercial utility, by the rapid opening of communications. The process of decay has continued and the necessity of fairs from a commercial point of view can hardly be justified. The religious sanctity still, however, remains undiminished."

With the development of transport and communication facilities, opening of retail shops in the villages and round about, greater movement of people from one place to another and above all the setting up of markets at important places, the fairs, are now losing their former economic significance though some fairs still claim to retain it. There are, however, some fairs which are more important as trade centres where the villagers still flock to purchase their annual requirements of cattle and other animals, such as, horses, asses, etc., or the provisions required by them for daily consumption over a year.

The following is an account of fairs given in the old Akola District Gazetteer published in 1910:—

"Fairs vary from a little gathering hardly known outside its own village to a concourse numbering some thousands and including representatives from distant parts of India. It is impossible to give correct statistics, both because general estimates of number are very unreliable and because the popularity of a fair may change considerably in a few years; Government gets no revenue from fairs. The largest fair in the District is said to be that at Sindkhed in Akola taluk; it is held in honour of Shri Moreshwar Mahadeo, and lasts for five days in the hot weather; the attendance has at times been officially estimated at 50,000; Pinjar in the same taluk is said to have 25,000 people in the rains on account of Vithoba Rukhmai. Donad and Kothali both attract 5000 visitors; so that Akola seems to have far more important fairs than any other taluk. A fair in November at the temple of Narsingboa at Akot is in the same class with these. In Basim taluk 10,000 people are said to attend fairs lasting a month in the cold weather at Pardi Asra in honour of the Asras, and at Nagardas both in the hot weather and the beginning of the cold weather in the name of Bhawani or Devi. Basim itself has 5000 people at the temple of Mahadeo in October, and Sirpur attracts 2000 Jains a little later. Mangrul has a fair of some size at the tomb of Hayat Kalandar; Umri and Gibba Majra Dongarkhed in the same taluk are said to have an attendance of 4000 and 3000 respectively; Patur in Balapur taluk was formerly the scene of a great gathering in honour of Nana Sahib, but its importance has almost vanished. Petty fairs are very numerous. Some of these meetings used to be distinguished by hook-swinging, the hook-dance, and other barbarous acts of devotion, a painless representation of which is still given at some places. Malsud in Balapur taluk, which is said to get 1600 visitors, has fire-walking and the penance of vicarious and symbolic castigation. Alegaon is visited in April by 1000 Manbhaus."

The above account shows that fairs were generally held to celebrate the anniversary of a deity or a saintly person on a particular day every year, and that religious importance was attached to them. But with the passage of time and spread of education among the people the importance of fairs declined as a religious gathering. Now fairs are held more in the nature of a commercial activity though they have still not lost their religious significance. The turnover of commercial transactions at such fairs is considerable as compared to that in a weekly bazar and pedlars, hawkers and retail traders who set up their booths at the site of fair do a flourishing business.

Important fairs are held in various parts of the district. Among them a few viz., Loni, Saundala, Wadali (Deshmukh), Akot, Wadegaon, Akola, Kamargaon, Mangrulpir and Washim are noteworthy and are described below.

Loni.—This fair held in honour of the saint Sakharam Maharaj is also known as Loni fair in Vidarbha region and is the biggest fair in Akola district. The village Loni Budruk where the fair is held is on the motorable road from Washim to Lonar in Buldhana district. The fair is held between Kartika Vad. 14 and Margashirsha Sud 2. The most important days of the fair arc, however, Kartika Vad. 14 and 30 and Margashirsha Sud. 1. In the shrine of the temple there is a Mahadeo linga and a gold plated mask of the saint is piaced over it. The fair is attended by about 80,000 pilgrims from all parts of Vidarbha. The main items of entertainment at the fair are cinema shows, tamushas, magic feats, singing parties etc. Sometimes a circus troupe also camps at the place of fair. Various stalls are opened at the fair important among them being those of brass utensils, ctothes, sweetmeats, bangles, stationery articles, fancy goods, etc

Akot.—The fair is held in honour of Shri Narsing Maharaj and is the biggest fair in Akot tahsil. It is held in the month of Kartika (October-November) and is attended by over 10,000 persons. A large turnover of various agricultural commodities as also ctoth, pots, and various articles of daily use takes place at the time of the fair.

Akola.—At Akola fairs are held one at the time of Ramnavami and the other to celebrate Ganeshotsav. The Ramnavami fair is attended by over 10,000 people, whereas the fair at the time of Ganeshotsav celebration is attended by about 12,000 people. Traders from all over the district and also from the adjoining districts, hawkers and pedlars attend the fairs. A variety of goods are sold at these fairs.

Mangrulpir.—Like Akola, two fairs are held at Mangrulpir in memory of Birbalnath Maharaj in January-February and the other to celebrate Qulandar Baba-Urus in November-December and are attended by about 10,000 people from all over the district. Articles sold at the time of these fairs include sweetmeats, fruits, stationery, cutlery, crockery, toys, perfumery, toilets, watches, ctoth, ready-made ctothes, utensils, footwear, agricultural implements, cattle, etc.

Washim.—The fair held in honour of Shri Balaji in Ashwin (September-October) is the biggest fair of its kind in Washim tahsil and is attended by about 15,000 people from all over the district. Besides agricultural commodities, transactions in other goods, such as, sweetmeats, cloth, ready-made ctothes, perfumery, toilets etc., take place on a large scale. The fair is attended by a large number of hawkers, pedlars and traders.

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